Apparition Undergoes Restructuring; Will 'The Tree Of Life' Get A Late 2010 Release?

We were worried when just before Cannes, Apparition co-founder Bob Berney resigned, leaving the indie house in a state of flux. Our fears featured a slight uptick when last week, it was revealed that Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group moved the film "Welcome To The Rileys," starring Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini, to Samuel Goldwyn. Apparition had initially been set to distribute the film after striking a deal at Sundance and with all this moving and shaking, we began to wonder what the fate of Terrence Malick's "The Tree Of Life" might be. Well, the good news is that the film is still at Apparition, who are now restructuring; the bad news is that when we might get to see the film is still up in the air.

The first steps of Apparition's restructuring are difficult. They have laid off 60% of their staff and will be relocating their offices from New York to Los Angeles. Additionally, Bill Pohlad has enlisted ex-Lionsgate president Tom Ortenberg, once rumored as a replacement for Berney, to help with the transition and more importantly, assist in planning the release for "The Tree Of Life." But when that will happen seems to be anybody's guess.

While Deadline say the film is being prepped for a late 2010 Oscar contending release, Anne Thompson is less optimistic. She reiterates previous reports that the film is not guaranteed to be ready to for the Venice Film Festival, and more dishearteningly says that "Apparition has no firm release plan" though a late 2010 release is their target.

But there are signs of hope. Back in April, it was reported the film was 97% done and just a couple of weeks ago, Malick and Brad Pitt were seen palling around in Los Angeles where, apparently, he was overlooking FX work and cutting a trailer for the film. But Malick is a perfectionist and it won't be done until he's ready. So until then, we wait......

Malick's 'Tree of Life' gets rated... with a bit of a twistSource: Rope of Sillicon

Today's MPAA ratings deliver one of the most interesting updates to date and not because of the rating but because Terrence Malick's long delayed The Tree of Life has an MPAA rating and instead of listing Apparition as the distributor it lists Cottonwood Pictures, Inc., which is actually the production company.

I put a phone call into the MPAA and they were able to confirm this is Malick's picture, it is finished in terms of music, effects, etc. and it was screened for the Ratings Board within the last of couple of weeks. I wasn't able to get information on a running time and they also have no additional information in terms of how the film will be handled, but in light of recent reports Apparition was being restructured and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group moving the Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini feature Welcome To The Rileys from Apparition to Samuel Goldwyn there is no telling what this means for Tree of Life.

Rated PG-13 For some thematic material.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

A friend has read an early draft of Terrence Malick's Tree of Life script "and here's what I can tell you, other than that it's wonderful," he writes. "Of course, there is a very good chance that the finished film will look nothing like this, given Malick's track record. But it really does appear to have borrowed not just a page, but several whole chapters from 2001: A Space Odyssey's book.

Filmmaker Terrence Malick does not like being rushed, so much so the directors of both the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival aren't holding their breath that his latest film, "The Tree of Life", will make it to their fests.

“None of us really expects that to happen at this point… It would be a lovely surprise, but we’re not holding our breath. We know he’s definitely still working on the film, and he’s tired of being pushed by people. We’ve backed off and Venice has backed off" TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey told The Toronto Star (via The Playlist).

'Tree' scored a PG-13 rating last month and was said to be near completion a while back, then again Malick is famous for working on and editing his films right up until the last minute.

When I was really young and didn't fully understand what different units of time meant, whenever I would get fussy on car trips, my parents would say "We'll be there in half an hour," no matter how far away we were, and I would somehow be placated by that.

Can't they just release what they have now and finish the rest for the unrated director's cut DVD?

"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye

'The Tree Of Life' Should Open By End Of Year, "Will Change The Language Of Cinema," New Set Photos SurfaceSource: ThePlaylist

Terrence Malick's long-awaited "The Tree of Life" had been expected by many to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year. But Cannes came and went with no sign of the film, so most shifted their expectations a little, suggesting the film would make its debut at Venice, Toronto, Telluride or New York. Some have even predicted a Rome Film Festival premiere, after Malick appeared there in 2007 for a rare Q&A. Guessing when Malick's film would appear has become a parlour game among film fans to rank alongside "What does the end of 'Inception' mean?' and 'How much worse can M. Night Shyamalan get?'

Todd McCarthy of Indiewire, who's on the selection panel for the New York Film Festival this year, reported a couple of days ago that he believed that the film wouldn't even open this year, and would most likely premiere at Cannes in 2011, leaving most of us a little deflated. But now, his Indiewire colleague Anne Thompson has seemingly talked to some sources within the film's distributor Apparition, and the news is a little better.

Following the departure of his Apparition colleague Bob Berney a few months ago, the distributor's owner Bill Pohlad owner hired a consultant, Tom Ortenberg, a veteran of Lionsgate and the Weinstein Company, to aid in the release (and presumably the Oscar campaign) which means that the company's staff are more or less on hold until "The Tree of Life" is released. With that in mind, holding the release until next year is a bit like putting money in a bin and setting it on fire, so Thompson believes that it will hit before December 31st.

However, even with that in mind, it doesn't seem like a dead cert. Thompson's source claims that Malick's still trying to cut the film down, from three hours to two and a half (including letting students at the University of Texas at Austin try their hand at editing; if that's not a film school recommendation, we don't know what is), and Apparition boss Pohlad, who's apparently "indecisive... cautious and slow," is seemingly loathe to rush him.

The best news, however, from a source who's seen the film, is that it seems to be pretty extraordinary -- Thompson passes on that "It's a mystical exploration of the meaning of life, a journey in which a microcosm of a family mirrors the world; the differences between man and woman, husband and wife, are mirrored against nature and grace. It will change the language of movies. It's a real event. People will say 'what the fuck is this?'" Furthermore, the performances of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are both said to be awards worthy.

This all seems to suggest that it's delivered on the promise we saw when we took a look at the script not so long ago. We're pretty convinced that the film will arrive, at least in limited release, before the end of the year. For one thing, it has scheduled release dates in some parts of the world. Mel Gibson's company, Icon, is handling it in Australia and the UK, and it's scheduled for December 26th in Australia, and for January 28th in the UK; these could well move, but there'll be a lot of pressure from international partners for the film to be completed before then.

Furthermore, Malick's meant to be shooting his untitled romantic drama with Ben Affleck and Rachel Weisz (and potentially Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko too) in Oklahoma at the beginning of October, so he has to wrap it up by then, surely? It is worth remembering, however, that, even after "The New World" hit theaters, Malick continued to tinker with the film, releasing a new cut a few weeks later. We're sure another update will inevitably follow soon, so, as ever, we'll keep you posted...

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Malick's still trying to cut the film down, from three hours to two and a half (including letting students at the University of Texas at Austin try their hand at editing; if that's not a film school recommendation, we don't know what is).

Elements Of 'Tree Of Life' Compared To '2001: A Space Odyssey' In Early Screening; Picture Could Still Be 3 HoursSource: ThePlaylist

Are you sick of hearing about Terrence Malick's long-gestating "Tree Of Life" in that you just want to stop reading about it and you just want to see the damn thing already?

Join the crowd. But everytime we swear up and down that we're not going to write about the picture anymore, something pops up that piques our interest once more. But we'll keep it brief. An early screening of the film recently took place... somwhere, we assume Austin since that's where Malick lays his hat and one of the people in attendance has posted on the HomeTheater web forum. Don't worry there's not too many spoilers if you're a die-hard and have been reading every little thing about this film, however, if you're not one of those people, buyer beware. The key take aways: the "creation" section of the film (remember it's partly about the creation of the universe and briefly features dinosaurs) reminds this viewer of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey" (the thought of this gives us a huge cinema boner), it's 3 hours long (at least in this version, though that could change) and this guy thinks the film will come out in October. We're guessing last minute December ala, "The New World" which was released down to the wire so it would at least qualify for Oscar (and of course, Malick kept tooling with it afterwards and shaved down the running time for the wide January theatrical release). Will Brad Pitt garner an Oscar for his work in the film? Read more below.

Saw TREE OF LIFE the other night at work and it really is amazing. Hypnotic, more like. I won't give anything about it away here, but yes it is long and there has already been talk in the news about Malick releasing it, then re-cutting it, then re-releasing it, etc.

The main bulk of the film is about his childhood growing up in Texas (reels 3-7 out of 9!). The "creation" footage is outstanding, absolutely jawdropping, and does indeed feel like 2001 - a lot of the effects are practical and your eyes can see that, which makes it really fascinating to watch. I don't have a problem with the creation footage being connected to his boyhood, after all, most boys love dinosaurs, so that's how I looked at it.

The story is framed around the death of his middle brother (in Korea?? We never know) and is a reflection on the circle of life, the evolution of life out of the mess of the Big Bang, but also about life itself (the strained relationship with his severe father, a stunning performance by Brad Pitt, just stunning), and the end of the Universe. I still haven't given anything away that hasn't already been said in the press. The film just has to be seen to be believed! One feels like a child again, seeing the world through young wide eyes.

Yes, it is finished! I believe it releases in October but it may be a limited release. And yes again it's about 3 hours! There is talk of a cut down version, which Malick did for New World as well, but nothing confirmed.

The film also stars Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Joanna Going and Fiona Shaw. Malick is evidently gearing up his next picture which is either shooting now in secret or is in full-on pre-production, so that definitely is a good sign that 'TOL' is complete.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.